Monorail guided electric airplane

ABSTRACT

A transportation system combining the use of both a monorail and an airborne vehicle powered by electric motors from an electric power source located along the monorail. Rigid universally movable struts interconnect the vehicle with the monorail with electric cables housed by the struts for supplying electric current from a power source to the motors. Landing-loading platforms are located along designated locations at which the vehicle may be landed for the pick-up and discharge of passengers.

United States Patent Boyd [451 Feb. 13, 1973 [541 MONORAIL GUIDEDELECTRIC AIRPLANE [76] Inventor: Thomas H. Boyd, ll3 Larch Ave.,

Hagerstown, Md. 21740 ['22] Filed: Sept. 4, 1970 [2l] Appl. No.: 69,726

[52] U.S. C1 ..104/23 R, 104/119, 10S/141 [5l] Int.Cl.. ..B64f 3/02 [58]Field of Search. 244;17.l5;l7.l3; 104/22, 23 R,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,260,479 7/1966 Eickmann..104/22 3,550,535 12/1970 Rooklyn ....104/118 3,503,574 3/1970 Eickmann..244/l7.17

682,970 9/1901 Brodbeck ..104/23 R 1,733,270 10/1929 Messer 3,631,8091/1972 Reese ..104/23 FS Primary Examiner- Gerald M. Forlenza AssistantExaminer--George H. Lbman Attorney-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson [57]ABSTRACT A transportation system combining the use of both a monorailand an airborne vehicle powered by electric motors from an electricpower source located along the monorail. Rigid universally movablestruts interconnect the vehicle with the monorail with electric cableshoused by the struts for supplying electric current from a power sourceto the motors. Landing-loading platforms are located along designatedlocations at which the vehicle may be landed for the pick-up anddischarge of passengers.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEUFEB 13 |913 INVENTOR THOMAS H. BOYDJu/M, @al ya@ d@ ATTORNEYS 1 MONORAIL GUIDED ELECTRIC AIRPLAE Thisinvention relates generally to a novel high-speed transportation systemand, more particularly, to such a system which makes use of an airbornevehicle tethered to a monorail system having designated areas for bothlanding the vehicle and for serving as passenger loading and dischargestations.

A wide variety of systems have and are currently in the process ofconsideration relating to more rapid and economical means oftransportation of both cargo and passengers for both short and longjourneys in either interurban and/or intercity travel. Among these areground surface-systems which include the monorail wherein a high-speedtrain of cars is elevated for movement above grade level, the varioussub-surface systems, public bus and railroad transportation systems.Also, several of the airborne transportation systems which have met withlimited success include the use of helicopters, vertical take-off andlanding craft and other more conventional aircraft. Of these varioussystems, the subway, bus and train systems lend themselves most readilyto the transportation of a high volume of passengers between pointswithin the city and its suburbs. Although each of these enumeratedsystems is designed for an assortment of transportation needs, many ofthem are limited in their use for widespread service needs because theyare either too costly, or not sufficiently high-speed nor sufficientlycapable of transporting increased numbers of passengers at low cost. Inhighly-populated areas air pollution from an increased use of our publictransportation systems has become a significant factor in preferring oneover the other. Also, extensive use of elevated highways or bulkymonorail structures has been discouraged oftentimes because of theattendant noise pollution problems and because of their unsightlypresence in urban or suburban communities. It is, therefore, theunderlying object of the present invention to provide a rapid highdensity transportation system offering not only high speed but lownoiselevel, reliability, economy and a cleaner operating system bycombining the advantages of an electrically powered airborne vehicletransportation concept and the monorail system of transporting.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such atransportation system whichemploys the advantages of the advanced rotarywinged aircraft and the many benefits achievable with electric power. y

A further object of this invention is to provide such a transportationsystem which uses an airborne vehicle, tethered to a movable carriagemounted for rolling along a monorail as part of a system which includesa number of landing-loading platforms as passenger stations in severaldesignated areas.

A still further object of the instant invention is to provide such asystem wherein the airborne vehicle is interconnected to a movablecarriage by means of struts which are mounted for universal movement ofthe vehicle.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such atransportation system wherein electric conductor cables are locatedalong the monorail within the carriage and cable means are providedwhich electrically interconnect the conductor cables with electricmotors provided for the airborne vehicle.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of the inventionwhen considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a perspective view of the high-speed transportation system inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the carriage, monorail and a portion ofthe airborne vehicle showing the interconnection between the two;

FIG. 3 is a partial side view of the monorail and the attached carriagetaken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and,

FIG. 4, is an end view showing the aircraft, in part, tethered to themonorail system for universal movement.

Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer tolike and corresponding parts throughout the several views, there isshown in FIG. 1 an airborne vehicle 10 powered by electric motors 11 fordriving both rotary blades l2 and propellers 13 which obviouslyrotateabout vertical and horizontal axes, respectively. The airborne vehicleis tethered to a monorail which comprises substantially a T-beamconstruction 14 conveniently secured along a plurality of spaced columns15. The T-beam monorail may be of any well-known reinforced orprestressed concrete construction and the columns l5 may also be of aconcrete construction or may be of steel, if desired. A platformstructure 16 formsa part of the present transportation system and isshown in FIG. 1 as one of several stations which is to be located in thevicinity of the monorail in as many locations therealong as necessary.This construction may serve as both a waiting station for passengers andas a loading platform for the airborne vehicle which may convenientlyland thereon for admitting and discharging passengers and/or cargo atthe station. In FIG. 2, it can be seen that the airborne vehicle l0 isinterconnected with the monorail through a carriage 17 which surroundsthe upper portion of the monorail and which is mounted for rollingmovement therealong by means of rollers 18, which engage the top side ofeach horizontal flange of the T-beam, and by means of rollers 19 whichengage the bottom side of the horizontal flange. As shown in FIG. 3,pairs of these upper end lower rollers 18, 19 snugly embrace oppositesides of the T-beam flanges so as to lend stability to the movingcarriage. Also, rollers 2l are provided in rolling contact with thevertical stern portion of the T-beam so as to further insure stabilityof the carriage during its rolling along the monorail.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, a pair of struts 22 are provided forstructurally interconnecting the airborne vehicle with the carriage 17surrounding the monorail. The struts are secured to the underside of theairborne vehicle in any convenient manner preferably at the center ofgravity for the vehicle, each strut being pivotally connected as at 23to the vehicle connector bar 24 formovement by each strut at 23 about anaxis parallel to the longitudinal axis of both the airborne vehicle andthe monorail. Each strut is interconnected at its other end with aroller axle 26 of one of the rollers 18 through a bar 25. Each bar ispivotally connected to the axle 26 at one end for movement about an axistransverse to the longitudinal axis of the T-bea'm and is interconnectedwith the strut 22 at its other end as at 27 for movement about an axisparallel to the longitudinal axis of the T-beam. Also, the upper end ofeach strut is interconnected with connector 24 by means of a short bar34 for pivotal movement as at 35 about an axis also transverse to themonorail longitudinal axis.

. With such an arrangement, it can be seen that the airborne vehicle iscapable of substantially universal movement with respect to the carriagewhile it is being pulled by the airborne vehicle along the T-beam.

- The electric motors 13 of the airborne vehicle are powered throughmeans of'electric conductor cables 28 which are disposed within thecarriage 17 parallel with the longitudinal axis of the T-beam andbeneath the lower surface of the T-beam flanges. These cables arearranged and function in a manner similar to the well-known trolley carand railroad engine conductor cables. Here, the conductor cables 28 aredesigned to supply electric current to the electric motors 13 throughconducting cables 29 which are each secured at one end to the carriage17 to a rod member 3l and at their other ends to the electrical systemof the aircraft. since each of the struts 22 may be designed as hollowtubes, a portion of the cables 29 is housed by each strut as the cablepasses therethrough. At the rod 3l end of the cables, it can be seenthat a contact plate 32 is mounted at one end of each rod for slidingcontact with each of the conductor cables 28. Also, each of theconductor cables may be completely shielded from the weather elements bymeans of an elongated angle iron 33 secured to the underside of theT-beam flanges.

In operation, the airborne vehicle l0 simply takes off from the topofthe platform structure 16 as electric current is supplied from theelectric conductor cables 28 to the electric motors 1l which drive theforward propellers 13 for forward speed and which also drive the rotorblades 12 during take-off and landing and during the low speed regimes.All power is fed into the rotor for take-off and touch-down and, duringthe transition to forward flight, the power is phased out of the rotorsystem and is fed into the forward propellers. This transition isaccomplished when the rotor is in auto-rotation so that all the powermay be used for driving the forward propellers. During initial take-off,landing and slow speed tlight the rotor carries all the vehicle weight.During high-speed flight, the wing will carry substantially all weight.Between these-extremes the transition is smooth and automatic. Betweenstations 16, which may be conveniently located at designated areas foreither interurban or intercity travel, and which may be provided atground level elevations if desired, the airborne vehicle is confined toan air space surrounding the monorail which is defined by the length ofstruts 22. Also, the struts and the cables 29 may be separable by meansof an explosive separator or other type device (not shown) so as topermit the vehicle to smoothly land unimpeded through autorotationduring an emergency.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that an extensive route network ispossible with the present design comparable to those electricdistribution systems used to power electric locomotives and electrictrolley cars with the added distinct advantages of increased travelspeed, reliability and economy in both construction of the monorailsystem and due to the availability of the high capacity rotary wingedaircraft. With the use of electric motors for powering the airbornevehicle, it can be seen that the noise level and the air pollutionduring operation may be held to an absolute minimum while transportinglarge numbers of passengers quickly and frequently as part of ascheduled service. Because the monorail system does not serve tostructurally support the transportation vehicle as it does inconventional support the transportation vehicle as it does inconventional monorail systems, the T-beam and its sup porting columnsmay be of a light and simple construction thereby greatly reducing costswhile at the same time raising the vehicular trackabove the ground so asto reduce interface problems with ground transportation, with naturalobstacles and with planned roadways. Also, the light and simplestructural requirements of the T-bearn monorail greatly reduces realestate purchasing costs otherwise necessary with the use of freeways,railways and interstate highways and reduces right-of-way maintenancecosts and real estate taxes which are a continual burden for therailroad companies. The speed capability of the present transportationsystem greatly exceeds that of existing ground transportation systemsand the highly reliable electric motors, proven through many years ofoperation, offer a virtually unfailing power source which thereforeplaces safety first among all current modes of transportation. Otherappealing characteristics of this high-speed transportation system arethat refueling is not required yet the airborne vehicle is completelyreliable and requires only minimal maintenance. Also, those weatherconditions which would normally tend to interrupt service of many of theexisting transportation systems will produce no adverse effect on thesmooth and efficient operation of the present transportation system.Most importantly, the low noise level characteristic of electrical poweris taken advantage of by the present invention with little or no concernof air pollutants being emitted along the system networks. Any airpollution is concentrated at the power stations where they may be morereadily controlled.

Obviously, many modifications-and variations of the present inventionare possible in the light of the above teachings.

It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appendedclaims,'the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallydescribed.

What is claimed is: v

l. A transportation system comprising an airborne vehicle in combinationwith a monorail system, said vehicle being a rotary wing aircraftpropelled byrotor blades rotating about a vertical axis for take-off andlanding and further propelled by rotor blades rotating about ahorizontal axis for forward flight, said vehicle having electric motorsfor turning said rotor blades, said monorail system comprising a T-beammounted along longitudinally spaced support columns, said monorailsystem further including loading-landing platforms located in theimmediate vicinity of said T-beam, a carriage mounted for rollingmovement along the length of said T-beam, first electric conductorcables located within said carriage and parallel to said beam, rigiduniversally movable strut means interconnecting said vehicle to saidcarriage, said strut means including a first and second pivotalconnection respectively at said vehicle and at said carriage formovement about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said T-beamand further including a third and fourth pivotal connection respectivelyat said vehicle and said carriage for movement about an axis transverseto the longitudinal axis of said T-beam, and conducting cable meanselectrically connecting said vehicle motors with said first conductorcables for the transmission of electric. current to said motors.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein said carriage surrounds theupper portion of said T-beam and is provided with rollers in rollingcontact with opposite sides of the T-beam horizontal flanges and withopposite sides of the T-beam vertical stem portion.

3. The system according to claim 2 wherein said conducting cable meansincludes a contact plate mounted for sliding contact with each of saidfirst conductor cables and further includes a second conductor cableconnected to each said contact plate.

4. The system according to claim 2 wherein a pair of said rst electricconductor cables is provided, each being located on opposite sides ofsaid T-beam vertical portion, and wherein said strut means furtherincludes a pair of struts each being associated with one of said secondcables and each being pivotally interconnected with said carriage at arespective one of said rollers in contact with said T-beam flanges formovement about an axis transverse to said T-beam longitudinal axis.

1. A transportation system comprising an airborne vehicle in combinationwith a monorail system, said vehicle being a rotary wing aircraftpropelled by rotor blades rotating about a vertical axis for take-offand landing and further propelled by rotor blades rotating about ahorizontal axis for forward flight, said vehicle having electric motorsfor turning said rotor blades, said monorail system comprising a T-beammounted along longitudinally spaced support columns, said monorailsystem further including loading-landing platforms located in theimmediate vicinity of said T-beam, a carriage mounted for rollingmovement along the length of said T-beam, first electric conductorcables located within said carriage and parallel to said beam, rigiduniversally movable strut means interconnecting said vehicle to saidcarriage, said strut means including a first and second pivotalconnection respectively at said vehicle and at said carriage formovement about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said T-beamand further including a third and fourth pivotal connection respectivelyat said vehicle and said carriage for movement about an axis transverseto the longitudinal axis of said T-beam, and conducting cable meanselectrically connecting said vehicle motors with said first conductorcables for the transmission of electric current to said motors.
 1. Atransportation system comprising an airborne vehicle in combination witha monorail system, said vehicle being a rotary wing aircraft propelledby rotor blades rotating about a vertical axis for take-off and landingand further propelled by rotor blades rotating about a horizontal axisfor forward flight, said vehicle having electric motors for turning saidrotor blades, said monorail system comprising a T-beam mounted alonglongitudinally spaced support columns, said monorail system furtherincluding loading-landing platforms located in the immediate vicinity ofsaid T-beam, a carriage mounted for rolling movement along the length ofsaid T-beam, first electric conductor cables located within saidcarriage and parallel to said beam, rigid universally movable strutmeans interconnecting said vehicle to said carriage, said strut meansincluding a first and second pivotal connection respectively at saidvehicle and at said carriage for movement about an axis parallel to thelongitudinal axis of said T-beam and further including a third andfourth pivotal connection respectively at said vehicle and said carriagefor movement about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of saidT-beam, and conducting cable means electrically connecting said vehiclemotors with said first conductor cables for the transmission of electriccurrent to said motors.
 2. The system according to claim 1 wherein saidcarriage surrounds the upper portion of said T-beam and is provided withrollers in rolling contact with opposite sides of the T-beam horizontalflanges and with opposite sides of the T-beam vertical stem portion. 3.The system according to claim 2 wherein said conducting cable meansincludes a contact plate mounted for sliding contact with each of saidfirst conductor cables and further includes a second conductor cableconnected to each said contact plate.